James Gray | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gray in 2019 | |
| Born | (1969-04-14)April 14, 1969 (age 56) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
James Gray (born April 14, 1969)[1] is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Since his feature debutLittle Odessa in 1994, he has made seven other features includingWe Own the Night (2007),Two Lovers (2008),The Immigrant (2013),The Lost City of Z (2016),Ad Astra (2019), andArmageddon Time (2022). Five of his films have competed for thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival.[2]
Gray was born in New York City and grew up in the neighborhood ofFlushing.[3][4] He is ofRussian Jewish descent,[5][6][7][8] with grandparents fromOstropol,Western Ukraine, which at that time was a part of theUSSR.[9] The original family name was "Grayevsky" or "Greyzerstein."[10] His father was once an electronics contractor. Gray attended theUniversity of Southern CaliforniaSchool of Cinematic Arts, where his student film,Cowboys and Angels, helped him get an agent and the attention of producerPaul Webster, who encouraged him to write a script which he could produce.[11][12]
In 1994, at age 25, Gray debuted his first feature filmLittle Odessa, starringTim Roth as ahit man confronted by his younger brother upon returning to his hometown, "Little Odessa," a section ofBrighton Beach,Brooklyn.[13] The film won theSilver Lion at the51st Venice International Film Festival.[14]
In 1998, Gray began shooting his second film,The Yards, a crime drama set in thecommuter rail yards inNew York City. The film was released theatrically byMiramax two years later on October 12, 2000.[15]
In March 2006, Gray began production on his third film,We Own the Night, which he had been wanting to shoot since the early 2000s. Set in 1988, it starsJoaquin Phoenix andMark Wahlberg as two brothers, one a nightclub manager with ties to the mob, and the former a police detective who wages an all-out war on drugs. The film screened in competition at the2007 Cannes Film Festival in May,[16] receiving widely divergent reviews from international critics, and was released theatrically in the U.S. in October.[17]
After that film's success, Gray was given creative freedom forTwo Lovers which was loosely based onFyodor Dostoevsky’s "White Nights".[18] The film made its premiere at the2008 Cannes Film Festival.
Gray co-wrote the screenplay forGuillaume Canet's filmBlood Ties, aremake of the French thrillerRivals.[19] This collaboration led Gray to meeting Canet's partnerMarion Cotillard, whom he would cast in his next filmThe Immigrant.[20] It tells the story of a Polish nurse who is separated from her sister atEllis Island and forced intoprostitution by a theater manager, played byJoaquin Phoenix. The film, which was previously titledLowlife andThe Nightingale, marked Gray's fourth collaboration with Phoenix. It was nominated for thePalme d'Or at the2013 Cannes Film Festival.[21]
In 2015, Gray directed a television commercial forChanel men's fragrance,Bleu de Chanel, starringGaspard Ulliel.[22] It was filmed in Los Angeles and released on February 5, 2015.[23]
In October 2016, Gray's filmThe Lost City of Z premiered at theNew York Film Festival. The film, based on thebook byDavid Grann, depicts the life of explorerPercy Fawcett, played byCharlie Hunnam.[24]
At the2016 Cannes Film Festival, it was reported that Gray would next direct his long-gestated sci-fi space epicAd Astra.[25]Brad Pitt signed on to star in April 2017 and the rest of the cast joined later that year.Ad Astra premiered at theVenice Film Festival on August 29, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on September 20, 2019 by20th Century Fox.[26] Gray later stated that the film that was released to theaters was not his cut.[27]
On June 16, 2020, it was officially confirmed that Gray's next film, titledArmageddon Time, would be a coming-of-age drama loosely based on his childhood memories,[28][29] withAnne Hathaway,Anthony Hopkins andJeremy Strong cast in the film.[30] The film had its world premiere at theCannes Film Festival on May 19, 2022 and was released in the United States on October 28, 2022 byFocus Features.
In November 2024, it was reported that Gray had set his next film,Paper Tiger, described as a "blue chip crime-drama-thriller" following two brothers who, while in pursuit of theAmerican Dream, become "entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true." Filming commenced in 2025, with financing from Leone Film Group.[31]
AfterLittle Odessa, Gray was offered the script forThe Devil's Own byBrad Pitt, a friend of his. Gray turned it down and the film was ultimately directed byAlan J. Pakula.[32] He also passed up the opportunity to directGood Will Hunting.
In 1997, Gray was in negotiations with producerArt Linson to direct thebiopicKiller Spy, aboutCIA agentAldrich Ames, based on the novelBetrayal.[33]Kevin Spacey was being talked about for the starring role of Ames.
In 1999, Gray was in talks to directBrad Pitt andJennifer Aniston inWaking Up in Reno forMiramax. The film was made three years later but without the involvement of Gray, Pitt or Aniston.[34]
It was reported in 2000 that Gray would direct and co-writeEdgardo Mortara, a film based on theinfamous 1858 kidnapping of the 6-year-old Jewish boy by thePapal police.[35] Gray was to collaborate with writer Rob Eshman on the screenplay.
In 2003, it was rumored that Gray had written an adaptation ofPhilip K. Dick's novelette "Paycheck". Prior toJohn Woo being selected,Brett Ratner was in talks to direct.[36] Afilm was released later that year, but Gray had no involvement.
In 2006, Gray was planning to directAlphabet City, based on the 1995 novel bySteven Knight, who also penned the first draft of the script.[37]
In 2010, Gray was hired to rewrite the script of theCharlie Hunnam-scriptedVlad, which would have been a period action film based on the story ofDracula.Anthony Mandler had been attached to direct the film.[38]
In January 2011, it was reported that Gray would be directing a film adaptation ofMark Greaney's novelThe Gray Man written byAdam Cozad. The project was first set up atNew Regency.[39][40]Brad Pitt was initially cast to star, but by October 2015, he and Gray were no longer involved with the film.
In April 2011,Jeremy Renner enlisted Gray to write the screenplay for an untitledSteve McQueen biopic with Renner in the role under his production banner The Combine.[41] "I did it more or less as a favor to Jeremy and to honor Steve McQueen," Gray said.[20] Heavily researched and based on two books byMarshall Terrill,Portrait of an American Rebel andThe Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon, the film was initially going to be directed byIvan Zachariáš, although Gray later stated in 2013 that he may end up directing it himself at some point.[42]
In August 2013, it was announced thatWarner Bros. tapped Gray to write and directWhite Devil, a film based on the life ofJohn Willis.[43]
It was reported in April 2015 byVariety that Gray was to executive produce and serve ascreative consultant onHard Apple, an "adult-skewing"animated series inspired by New York-born authorJerome Charyn's Isaac Sidel novels.[44]
In April 2018, MGM closed a deal for Gray to directI Am Pilgrim, an adaptation ofthe espionage novel byTerry Hayes.[45] He was slated to direct the film after he finished shootingAd Astra. However, Gray confirmed in 2022 that the project is officially dead, and that it had got lost in the "business mess" with studios changing hands.[46]
In April 2022, Gray announced plans to develop alimited series about novelistNorman Mailer based onJ. Michael Lennon's biographyNorman Mailer: A Double Life.[47]
In October 2022, Gray said he was interested in wrangling back the cast for a semi-sequel toArmageddon Time, to focus solely on his mother, who was portrayed byAnne Hathaway. "The story goes in a very unexpected place," said Gray, "Because my father actually did achieve some financial success but wound up getting it all confiscated by the government when he got into legal trouble. At the same time, my mother found out she was dying. And so, it's going to be, I think, something about that period."[48] That same month,Deadline reported that Gray's next film would be a biopic about a youngJohn F. Kennedy that focused on his time inWorld War II where he saved his crew from a sinking patrol boat.[49][50] The film was titledMayday 109 and had been in development for several years before Gray boarded the project.[51]Bill Skarsgård was attached to star as Kennedy.[52]
In November 2022, Gray revealed in an interview forCollider that one of his dream projects was an epic about theRussian Revolution calledThe Dream of a Thousand Men, but that it was unlikely to be made anytime soon, if at all, due toRussia's 2022 Ukraine invasion.[53]
In March 2023, it was announced Gray would directEzekiel Moss, aDepression-set ghost story written by Keith Bunin, forFocus Features.[54]
In February 2024, Gray replacedNeil Burger as the director ofSummer Frost, based onBlake Crouch's source material, which had first been announced back in 2020.[55]
In 2025,The Hollywood Reporter announced thatJulia Roberts would be teaming with Gray for an adaptation ofPeter Swanson's forthcomingKill Your Darlings, a murder mystery "told in reverse."[56]
Gray also turned down the role played byNoah Taylor inWes Anderson'sThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.[57] He did, however, appear in a brief cameo in a deleted scene inLove Jones.[58]
In 2019, it was reported that Gray was to stageMozart'sThe Marriage of Figaro, his first opera, at theThéâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris that November. French fashion designerChristian Lacroix did the costumes for the production.[59]
Gray married Alexandra Dickson in 2005. The couple have three children.[60]
In 2022, Gray participated in theSight and Sound film polls. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice. Gray chose the following, in no order:[61]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Cowboys and Angels | Yes | No | No | Student short film |
| 1994 | Little Odessa | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2000 | The Yards | Yes | Yes | No | Co-written withMatt Reeves |
| 2007 | We Own the Night | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | Two Lovers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-written withRichard Menello |
| 2013 | Blood Ties | No | Yes | Executive | Co-written withGuillaume Canet |
| The Immigrant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Richard Menello | |
| 2016 | The Lost City of Z | Yes | Yes | Yes | Based on thebook byDavid Grann |
| 2019 | Ad Astra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-written withEthan Gross |
| 2022 | Armageddon Time | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2026 | Paper Tiger | Yes | Yes | Yes | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Red Road | "Arise My Love, Shake Off This Dream" (S1 E1) |
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | The Yards | Nominated |
| 2007 | We Own the Night | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Two Lovers | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | The Immigrant | Nominated | ||
| 2022 | Armageddon Time | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | César Awards | Best Foreign Film | We Own the Night | Nominated |
| 2009 | Two Lovers | Nominated | ||
| 1996 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Feature | Little Odessa | Nominated |
| Best First Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Best Director | Two Lovers | Nominated | |
| 1994 | Venice International Film Festival | Golden Lion | Little Odessa | Nominated |
| Silver Lion | Won | |||
| 2019 | Golden Lion | Ad Astra | Nominated |
And he is. He's also a grade-A kibitzer, a gregarious character, whose chatty and self-effacing wit bespeaks his Queens upbringing and Eastern European-Jewish heritage.
